1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mounting unit, more particularly to a multi-directional mounting unit for mounting a bicycle lock on a tubular frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, there are different kinds of bicycle frames which are available in the market. Some of these bicycle frames have a horizontal shaft which extends horizontally adjacent to a top end of the seat stay thereof.
A conventional bicycle lock includes an elongated lock body and a U-shaped shackle. A mounting unit is secured on the seat stay of the bicycle frame and is used to retain the lock body on the seat stay. Most mounting units cannot be used with a seat stay that has a horizontal shaft adjacent to the top end of the latter because of the relatively narrow space between the horizontal shaft and the seat stay.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional mounting unit which can be used with a seat stay that has a horizontal shaft adjacent to the top end of the latter. The mounting unit is a one-piece injection molded plastic part and includes a main body (11) and a retaining seat (12) formed on one side of the main body (11). The main body (11) is formed with an axially extending slit (111) and a spaced pair of outward flanges (112) on two sides of the slit (111). A press seat (14) and a locking bolt (15) cooperate with a wing nut (16) so as to narrow the space between the flanges (112) when retaining the lock body of a bicycle lock on the mounting unit. The retaining seat (12) has an axially extending slit (121) and a spaced pair of outward flanges (13) on two sides of the slit (121). The retaining seat (12) is used to secure the mounting unit on the bicycle frame. The slits (111, 121) of the main body (11) and the retaining seat (12) are parallel but are oriented in opposite directions.
Note that because the mounting unit is integrally formed, the orientation of the lock body of the bicycle lock relative to the bicycle frame cannot be changed. Therefore, the conventional mounting unit cannot be adapted for use with a wide variety of bicycle frame designs.
In the above-described mounting unit, a fastening unit, which includes the press seat (14), the locking bolt (15) and the wing nut (16), is employed to retain the lock body of the bicycle lock on the mounting unit. However, when a bicycle which incorporates the conventional mounting unit is driven at a relatively high speed, the resulting vibrations can cause loosening of the wing nut (16). The conventional mounting unit is thus unable to guarantee that the untimely removal of the bicycle lock from the bicycle frame will not occur. Furthermore, the fastening and unfastening operations of the fastening unit are time-consuming and cannot be conveniently accomplished.